Sunday, August 01, 2010

While the Giants let the bat market pass them by, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti was able to do what he always does this time of year -- get teams to pay him to take their players at the deadline. This year, Colletti targeted pitching and a second-base upgrade and got what he was chasing. Ted Lilly figures to be a great fit for the ballpark. Ryan Theriot will be a much-needed energizer for a team that sometimes plays as if it's hooked on Tylenol PM. And while there are no Octavio Dotel Fan Club members typing away on this block, at least he's a power bullpen arm -- and you can never have enough in the NL West. Oh, and the Cubs and Pirates contributed about $3 million to the McCourt Divorce Court funds. What a country.

The Dodgers had major needs but had to be creative because of financial limitations created by the pending divorce of owner Frank McCourt. Even with that they were able to provide a limping rotation with a veteran presence by landing lefty Ted Lilly from the Cubs. They also provided a left-handed-hitting base stealer in outfielder Scott Podsednik from Kansas City. The most important move, however, came shortly before the deadline when they acquired reliever Octavio Dotel from Pittsburgh. Manager Joe Torre has a well-established track record in wearing out relievers, which makes it important to provide a new arm to handle eighth-inning chores and provide an alternative in the ninth inning so that Jonathan Broxton can have a break.

Nice work by GM Ned Colletti landing the best remaining pitcher on the market (Ted Lilly), a speed-and-defense guy who has flashed on-base skills in the past (Ryan Theriot) and worthwhile complementary pieces (Octavio Dotel and Scott Podsednik). Blake DeWitt, who’s heading to Chicago, never found his niche with the Dodgers and needed to be moved. By all indications, Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach aren’t Carlos Santana – the Santana-for-Casey Blake deal was every bit as bad, if not worse, than the Victor Zambrano-Scott Kazmir classic – so all the better for the Dodgers. They desperately needed someone to fill the rotation alongside Clayton Kershaw and Hiroki Kuroda – even with Vicente Padilla pitching better – and they got it.

Colletti did very right by the Dodgers this week in adding speedy outfielder Scott Podsednik (from Kansas City), versatile infielder Ryan Theriot (Cubs), veteran starting pitcher Ted Lilly (Cubs) and closer/set-up man Octavio Dotel (Pirates). He's always been at his strongest during the July and August trading periods.

Dodger bloggers have spoken, and they do not like what Ned Colletti has done:

The problem is that within 48 hours, the Dodgers traded Blake DeWitt, James McDonald, Lucas May, Elisaul Pimentel, Brett Wallach, Kyle Smit and Andrew Lambo for two months of Lilly, Dotel and Scott Podsednik and potentially a couple of more years of (grumble) Ryan Theriot. Two months of one decent starting pitcher and three marginal contributors.

It is impossible for me to believe those seven players, assembled together, would not have been enough to bring Cliff Lee to Los Angeles. It is impossible for me to believe these assets could not have been better used in some fashion.

This team has bigger problems then trying to compete for a 2010 playoff spot, they need some players for 2011, and trading your starting second baseman for a 2010 rental borders on massive incompetence. This is not a playoff team, and Ted Lilly or PodBoy is not going to change that.

Overall, I simply think the Dodgers gave up too much, and i'm not exactly sure how much better they got in the short term either. If Theriot starts everyday, he is a downgrade from DeWitt at second base, so an already struggling offense might struggle even more. Lilly is a solid pitcher, but he only has 9-11 starts left on the season, and he's not the type to dominate the opposition and get the Dodgers 5-7 wins that they wouldn't have normally gotten.

I understand that DeWitt isn't special, and I don't think he will ever be special in the future, but he is about a league average option at two positions, and he's cost controlled for four or five more years. Combine that with trading away two potential major league players in Wallach and Smit, and I have to question the intelligence of this deal. [...]

Overall, this was a horrid trade for the Dodgers because it's actually arguable that they downgraded their bullpen in both the short term and long term, gave up years and years of team control, and gave up the much higher upside.

Again, I fully understand that neither McDonald nor Lambo are considered elite prospects anymore, but they do have value, and considering that average to above average prospects have been traded for impact players during this trading deadline, I find it pathetic that the Dodgers had to trade similar assets for a middling bullpen arm.

"Nice work by GM Ned Colletti landing the best remaining pitcher on the market (Ted Lilly)"

Passan is congratulating him on picking up what was leftover. He didn't get Lee, Haren or Oswalt. He went and got the only remaining starter out there. Typical Ned, waiting for all the good stuff to get picked up so he can overpay for what's left.

The Dotel trade was worthless. McDonald is decent as a reliever, and he's not arb-eligible for two years. I have no reason to think Dotel is an upgrade over McDonald, and he cost us two cost-controlled players.

I almost feel like the Lilly trade would look better without Theriot, because not only is Theriot worse than DeWitt, he's worse than Jamey Carroll. And Joe Torre is a fucking moron, and will play Theriot more regularly than DeWitt. And Theriot will probably bat in the 2 spot. If we non-tender Theriot, we still have Carroll at 2B next year, at least, which for this team, I could live with. But watch the Mustache keep Theriot but let Lilly go (and certainly no arb offer) next year.

Enjoy this team now. Unless they kick payroll up to $140m, the Dodgers will turn into the fucking Houston Astros.

Were you born as an obtuse weenie, or did you simply BS your way into that capacity on your resume?

This column; I give you 10 for pure, SFV movie-making fluffery and 0 for the substance. Anyone can lay-back and toss poop at the obvious moment in time. There's no art in that and certainly no effort. What say you quit phoning-in your writeups and start earning what they pay you?

My God, is it possible to use some high tech medical wizardry and get Jim Murray back on staff so that we can send you packing to Fresno?"

I'm pissed by the Dotel trade and the inclusion of Theriot for DeWitt. Dotel is a rental player, and it cost a much more serviceable reliever in J-Mac. Theriot is Theriot, and DeWitt was DeWitt, and only in Colletti's universe is Theriot an improvement on DeWitt.